Rebels run past Panthers
Hernandez scores four goals to lead undefeated New Fairfield
SOUTHBURY — Yielding the game’s first two goals did little to slow down the season-long momentum of the New Fairfield girls lacrosse team.
Even in the face of perhaps their stiffest competition in the SWC, the Panthers keep rolling along.
Danielle Hernandez scored four goals while Nicole Berry added three as New Fairfield scored 10 unanswered goals in a 13-7 win over Pomperaug Thursday night. The Rebels improved to 13-0 having not lost since the regular-season finale last season.
“I just think it was a great overall performance,” Rebels coach Karen Nell said. “I’m really proud of them putting everything together; it was tough at times to get the momentum going but when (Pomperaug) scored a couple of goals we stayed tough.”
The magic number so far this season has been seven: the Rebels haven’t conceded more than seven goals in any game this season. Thanks to a stifling defense and outstanding goalie Rachel Mikolay, that stayed intact Thursday.
“Our defense is some
thing we take pride in,” said Rebels senior defender Eileen Rattigan. “We say every day in practice that defense wins championships; the first line of defense is the attack so everyone is playing defense on the field and we pride ourselves on that.”
Mikolay did the rest with the early lead built. She made a series of saves early in the second half to keep it
7-2. Pomperaug didn’t score for close to 30 minutes before ending the 10-goal run with 14:48 left.
The Panthers scored three straight in quick succession to close to within
10-5 before New Fairfield pulled away. Katie Schenk and Maris DiBeneditto each scored twice Thursday for Pomperaug (11-2-1).
“When we had momentum we were able to capitalize on it well,” said Panthers coach Danielle McCauley. “We were expecting them to have a stifling defense and a really aggressive goalie, and we didn’t do our best adjusting to what they were giving us. But it’s always good to have a challenge at this point in the season.”
New Fairfield has two tests left to complete its undefeated season, first Saturday against Canton then Tuesday against FCIAC power Staples. All three of the Rebels’ final three games are at home, but the one against the Wreckers provides a rare opportunity.
“We’re so excited to have the opportunity to play them in general,” Rattigan said. “We’ve been looking at from other teams because we don’t get to play a lot of the teams they play. We’ve been doing our research and we’re just so excited to play them.”
LEAGUE FAVORITES
Pomperaug suffered its first loss of the season Saturday against Ludlowe, a 13-12 decision. The two teams will likely be the top two seeds in next week’s SWC tournament. Pomperaug won conference crowns in 2015 and 2016 when the league was split into two divisions.
“Our season has been going well,” McCauley said. “We’ve had some big wins and great competition but this is a great marker of what we need to do going into the postseason. This will be a good learning moment.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Rachel Mikolay, New Fairfield: Finished the night with 14 saves, many of which were in from close range.
QUOTABLE
“This is probably one of (Mikolay’s) best games,” Nell said. “She had good saves and we were able to handle their pressure. We were able to stay composed.”